How the Mind Works

In this delightful, acclaimed bestseller, one of the world’s leading cognitive scientists tackles the workings of the human mind. What makes us rational—and why are we so often irrational? How do we see in three dimensions? What makes us happy, afraid, angry, disgusted, or sexually aroused? Why do we fall in love? And how do we grapple with the imponderables of morality, religion, and consciousness?

Pinker is articulate, brilliant and interesting as he leads the listener through a huge forest of cognitive research and evolutionary psychology. He explains as he begins that the fascinating features of our brain have evolved for two purposes: First, to help us reproduce as many offspring as possible. Second, to help us survive as long as long as possible. Any abilities that do not further these two goals are superfluous to our existence. It is a book I will probably read several times before I put it down for good.

The Handmaid's Tale

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, serving in the household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife. She may go out once a day to markets whose signs are now pictures because women are not allowed to read. She must pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, for in a time of declining birthrates her value lies in her fertility, and failure means exile to the dangerously polluted Colonies. Offred can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost even her own name....

I put off reading book for a long time because I had seen the movie version and was put off in a big way. The book is so much better than the movie because the author has a chance to develop the characters. I think it ought to be premarital reading for both men and women, Hopefully men will read it before societal stereotypes of women. The chaipter called author notes is a must read.

The Map Thief: The Gripping Story of an Esteemed Rare-Map Dealer Who Made Millions Stealing Priceless Maps

Maps have long exerted a special fascination on viewers - both as beautiful works of art and as practical tools to navigate the world. But to those who collect them, the map trade can be a cutthroat business, inhabited by quirky and sometimes disreputable characters in search of a finite number of extremely rare objects.

Once considered a respectable antiquarian map dealer, E. Forbes Smiley spent years doubling as a map thief - until he was finally arrested slipping maps out of books in the Yale University library.

The Map Thief: The Gripping Story of an Esteemed Rare-Map Dealer Who Made Millions Stealing Priceless Maps by Michael Blanding is exceedingly tedious and boring. It is an endless recitation of banal facts that you wonder how anyone could value. While waiting to engage with the narrative have lots of coffee or Red Bull handy. A primer on historical cartography would have been a better use of Blanding's time.

These Things Hidden

Once the golden child of tiny Linden Falls, Iowa, Allison Glenn watches her reputation crumble as she is sent to prison for five years—convicted of a terrible crime. But what really happened that fateful night? Allison’s younger sister is the only other person who knows the truth. Now out of prison, Allison is more desperate than ever to set the record straight, but the revelation of the truth could have far-reaching consequences.

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf is the poignant story of four women affected in different ways by a terrible tragedy. By allowing the reader see the the other side of terrible wrong and its consequence on the innocent and the guilty, one cannot but leave it with more tolerance for those caught in traps of their own making.

A dazzling tour of the universe as Einstein saw it. How did Albert Einstein come up with the theories that changed the way we look at the world? By thinking in pictures. Michio Kaku, leading theoretical physicist (a cofounder of string theory) and best-selling science storyteller, shows how Einstein used seemingly simple images to lead a revolution in science. With originality and expertise, Kaku uncovers the surprising beauty that lies at the heart of Einstein's cosmos

Einstein's Cosmos: How Albert Einstein's Vision Transformed Our Understanding of Space and Time by Michio Kaku is third biography of the physicist that I have recently read/listened to. It focuses more on his work than his personal life. The author explains his complex theories in words and with examples that make them easily understood. This would be an excellent read/listen for anyone who has always wanted someone to explain general relativity and string theory in a way they could be understood. I will probably reread this book again next year. It is that good.

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

From the unique perspective of David Sedaris comes a new collection of essays taking his listeners on a bizarre and stimulating world tour. From the perils of French dentistry to the eating habits of the Australian kookaburra, from the squat-style toilets of Beijing to the particular wilderness of a North Carolina Costco, we learn about the absurdity and delight of a curious traveler's experiences.

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedarius is a collection of irreverent, but drily humorous essays and stand up comedic performances. Some of the content was creative, clever, and fresh. Some was not. This listen is not for the easily offended.

The Mark of the Assassin

When a commercial airliner is blown out of the sky off the East Coast, the CIA scrambles to find the perpetrators. A body is discovered near the crash site with three bullets to the face: the calling card of a shadowy international assassin.

Veronica Mars: An Original Mystery by Rob Thomas: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line

The first book in an original mystery series featuring 28-year-old Veronica Mars, back in action after the events of Veronica Mars: The Movie. With the help of old friends - Logan Echolls, Mac Mackenzie, Wallace Fennel, and even Dick Casablancas - Veronica is ready to take on Neptune's darkest cases with her trademark sass and smarts.

The target audience for Veronica Mars by Rob Thomas is somewhere between those who read Nancy Drew Mysteries and those who would read The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo. It is actually the story of Veronica Mars after her TV series. Those like me who found the series better than the critics rated it will be able to connect with many of the back story allusions that she makes. However, in the end, I found it more melodrama than mystery.

The Chosen

Though they've lived their entire lives less than five blocks from each other, Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders exist in very different worlds. Reuven blends easily into both his secular Jewish faith and his typical American teen life, while Danny's conservative Hasidic clothes and appearance make him stick out in any crowd. Their improbable friendship teaches them that the differences separating people through cultures and generations are never as great as they seem.

The Chosen by Chaim Potok is the story of two Jewish boys each from a different branch of Judaism who become friends and learn great life lessons from one another. Their story discovery and friendship captured my imagination and would not release until the very end. From a practical view The Chosen is an excellent opportunity to increase one's cultural intelligence with regard to the history and the spirituality of the Jews. I highly recommend it to anyone wishing to expand their cultural sensitivity and knowledge of diversity. I am really glad to have read this book.

On the Road: The Original Scroll

Though Jack Kerouac began thinking about the novel that was to become On the Road as early as 1947, it was not until three weeks in April 1951 that he wrote the first full draft that was satisfactory to him. Typed out as one long, single-spaced paragraph on eight long sheets of tracing paper that he later taped together to form a 120-foot scroll, this document is among the most significant, celebrated, and provocative artifacts in contemporary American literary history.

Before I read On The Road, The Scrolls, I read that Jack Kerouack died at the age of 49. By the time I finished it, I understood what cut his life so short. Still, this listen made me wish that every stranger vaccinated with a phonograph needle, who sat beside me on the plane or those who tried to entertain me until the doctor or dentist would rescue me could word smith their conversations as well as Jack.

The Viral Storm: The Dawn of a New Pandemic Age

In The Viral Storm, award-winning biologist Nathan Wolfe tells the story of how viruses and human beings have evolved side by side through history; how deadly viruses like HIV, swine flu, and bird flu almost wiped us out in the past; and why modern life has made our species vulnerable to the threat of a global pandemic. Wolfe's research missions to the jungles have earned him the nickname "the Indiana Jones of virus hunters," and here Wolfe takes listeners along on his groundbreaking and often dangerous research trips - to reveal the surprising origins of the most deadly diseases....

The Viral Storm: The Dawn of a New Pandemic Age by Nathan Wolfe is a great primer on virology. Written in understandable language and presented in a simple to complex ascension, it is easily followed. I learned many interesting facts. For instance now I know the difference between a retro virus and a normal virus. Who knew that treatment of the HIV virus requires another active virus in one's system. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to broaden his or her knowledge of virology.

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